Lafayette Issue 2B also passes easily

By overwhelming margins Tuesday, Lafayette and Louisville voters passed their city's respective open space tax extensions, funding future acquisitions of open space property for 10 more years.

As of 7:30 a.m. Wednesday morning, Louisville Ballot Issue 2A -- a 3/8-cent open space and trails sales tax extension that was slated to sunset in 2013 -- was receiving 67 percent voter approval. The Louisville vote count was in favor of 2A, 7,854 to 3,85.

The tax -- which was originally approved in 2004 will now expire in 2024 -- funds land acquisition in and around the City of Louisville and funds the parks, open space operations to the tune of about $1.3 million a year, Stevens said Tuesday, Nov. 6.

It most recently enabled $160,000 in trail improvements throughout the city.

During the last 10 years, about 51 percent of the tax has gone to land acquisition and 49 percent has gone to open space operations, Stevens said, adding that the city has identified 23 parcels for acquisition.

Louisville already owns, or jointly owns, more than 1,800 acres of open space and Stevens said the tax further enables the city to work outside its borders through partnerships with Boulder County and the City of Lafayette.

"It's in Louisville's best interest to be a good partner," Stevens said.

Louisville plans to use money from the open space tax to pay for half of the $1.4 million underpass that would connect Harper Lake with Davidson Mesa.

A portion of the fund is also slated to go toward Americans with Disabilities Act improvements to city facilities as well as signage, Stevens said. Federal government mandates indicate that facility components constructed after 1992 must come into compliance with ADA regulations and Louisville has three years to get that done.

Stevens said he was optimistic the tax would pass based on data from the Louisville 2012 Citizen Survey this spring, which showed 89 percent of residents who responded were in favor of the extension.

Lafayette also got its first indication that voters would extend the open space tax when the results came back from a citizen survey conducted in June.

When asked about funding options to allow the city to continue "creating trails and paths for walking, hiking or biking," 51 percent of those surveyed said the city should keep its current funding levels. An additional 43 percent of survey responders said Lafayette should increase funding levels for trail creation.

When questioned about what level of funding they would support for "acquiring more open space," 43 percent of those surveyed said the city should maintain current levels and 40 percent said they would support increased funding.

"There's not been any opposition to 2A," Lafayette spokeswoman Debbie Wilmot said. "Folks indicated all along they would be willing to pay for open space purchases."

The survey data more than held up Tuesday as Lafayette residents passed Lafayette Issue 2A with 80 percent approval, 10,894 to 2,648.

Lafayette's Legacy Open Space Tax generated $7.8 million from 2000 to 2011. Following recent open space acquisitions such as the egg farm property on the east end of the city that facilitated the Coal Creek/Rock Creek trail system's link to Erie, Lafayette's open space funds sit at roughly $800,000. The 2012 open tax tally has yet to be calculated. The tax, which would have expired at the end of 2014, now expires at the end of 2024.

Lafayette's open space tax has been primarily used to fund open space land acquisitions, not property or trails upkeep.

"Right now, (maintenance) is funded through our Parks, Recreation and Open Space Fund," Wilmot said. "Acquisition was something we set as a priority. We've chosen in the past to prioritize the funds to go towards land acquisition and have used other funds to pay for maintenance."

Had the 2A tax extension not gone through, Wilmot said there wouldn't have been many remaining means for the city to grab open space property. She said, given the lagging economy, city officials still worried voters could turn their nose at a tax on the ballot -- even the extension of an existing tax.

"With the economy the way it is, you never know," Wilmot said. "But the people who live in Lafayette are supportive of open space and open space acquisition."

Lafayette 2B passes easily

Lafayette residents also supported Ballot Issue 2B, extending the city's building permit cap of 1,200 through the six-year span ending in 2018. Issue 2B also allows Lafayette City Council to determine the number of annual building permits issued, eliminating the existing 200-permit annual cap.

Wilmot said 2B gives the city room to work with developers on larger projects.

"What it does is gives us that flexibility to react to market demand," Wilmot said. "It will allow us to let them come in and get their projects done in a timely manner rather than stringing them out over several years."